Van Halen Takes a Month Off

With Eddie under doctors' care and undergoing tests, band cancels shows between Mar. 11 and Apr. 15

By Natalie Finn Mar 11, 2008 12:38 AMTags

Eddie Van Halen is still on the mend, and his band is still offstage.  

What was originally a four-date postponement has turned into a monthlong leave of absence for Van Halen while its rock-god guitarist continues to deal with an undisclosed illness.

"Seventeen concert dates on the Van Halen tour are being rescheduled so that Eddie Van Halen, who is currently under doctors' care, can continue medical tests to define a course of treatment," über-promoter Live Nation said in a statement. "The tour will resume on April 19." 

Rescheduled dates will be announced shortly, the company added.

Starting with Tuesday's gig at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia, and ending with an Apr. 15 stop at Baltimore's 1st Mariner Arena, 17 shows on the East Coast and in the Midwest will be affected. 

Fans are being instructed to hang onto their tickets for those dates because all will be honored when Van Halen reconvenes onstage, supposedly Apr. 19 in Las Vegas.

The retooled foursome—with original frontman David Lee Roth on lead vocals and Van Halen's son Wolfgang doing the honors on bass—have so far kept mum on what's ailing Eddie. 

When tour plans were put on hold at this time last year, the musician revealed he was taking time off to enter rehab to tackle chronic alcohol addition. Van Halen also battled tongue cancer for a couple of years, with a doctor declaring him cancer free in 2002.